We Are an Apostolic Church
Introduction
Today we celebrate with joy the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. They are the two pillars on whom our Lord built his Church and to whom he entrusted the faith. Their own faith had been tested, when Peter denied Christ and Paul persecuted Christ in his disciples. Then their faith was strengthened and they dedicated their whole life to the spread of the gospel. We can learn from them today how to let Christ possess us so much that we live for him and his Church and are even willing to suffer for that faith. Let us give thanks today to the Lord for giving us these great apostles.
First Reading: The Gospel Cannot Be Chained
Peter is imprisoned for preaching Christ’s liberating message. While the young Church prays for Peter, God frees his faithful apostle, for the gospel cannot be chained.
1 Reading ACTS 12:1-11
In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.
He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,
and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews
he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
–It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–
He had him taken into custody and put in prison
under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.
He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.
Peter thus was being kept in prison,
but prayer by the Church was fervently being made
to God on his behalf.
On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,
Peter, secured by double chains,
was sleeping between two soldiers,
while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.
Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him
and a light shone in the cell.
He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,
“Get up quickly.”
The chains fell from his wrists.
The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.”
He did so.
Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”
So he followed him out,
not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.
They passed the first guard, then the second,
and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,
which opened for them by itself.
They emerged and made their way down an alley,
and suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter recovered his senses and said,
“Now I know for certain
that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.”
Responsorial Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (5) The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Second Reading: An Apostle Faithful to the Faithful Lord
At the end of his life Paul can testify that he has been a faithful witness to the Lord who has been faithful to him and given him strength. Now he looks forward to encountering the Lord for ever..
2 Reading 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia Mathew 16:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Peter, the Rock
Peter, the man of faith who acknowledges Christ as the Messiah, is made the rock on which the Lord builds his Church, which he will never abandon. Peter is for the Church the centre of faith, authority and unity.
Gospel Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Commentary:
Today we celebrate the memories of Peter and Paul, two foundational pillars of the Church, who are men with strange histories as well. One denied Jesus three times; the other persecuted Christians, God’s own people. Jesus’s founding the Church on them is a vote of confidence, love, and trust in them; and a reminder to us that it is not our merits that make us members of his Church, but the sheer grace of God, and that it is the Spirit that leads the Church, and not any human power or perfection.
These are days when our Mother Church has been rocked by many scandals, and we are out there frantically taking measures to clean it up with “zero tolerance.” But in our zealous drive to cleanse the Church of every fallibility, let us not forget that both the sinning and the sinned against deserve our justice and compassion so that neither of them will be lost. For, all are God’s people, and Christ would not want to lose any one of them (Jn 6:39).
Above all, the unique celebration of these two great founding Apostles is indicative that one must look beyond one’s failures and handicaps and look ahead, be positive leaving the dark past to history and letting in the shine of bright future.
Blessing
Let us ask for God’s blessing,
that we may be the Church of Peter,
firm in the faith, built on rock,
united as the one body of Christ
which cannot be overcome.
May we also be the Church of Paul,
dynamic, without boundaries,
restless until Christ is known to all.
May God bless you and this one Church:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go and be to the whole world
the body of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.